Im 16 and hate living at home if i run away can the police force me to go back?

[Unregistered]

I ran away from home and I'm 16 and live in Texas

I ran away from home the other night because of some things that had happened the following week. I know that I made mistakes and did some things on purpose but I was tired of getting the belt and getting in trouble. I want to know the law about a 16 year old running away from home in Texas. And honestly with that being sad I'm afraid to go back. I'm not a good person with stress and pressure but a lot of things had been going on with me for the past months and I hadn't told anyone about it until recently. Sometimes I would think of suicide because I was so stressed. And recently, I've been worried that I may be pregnant, I've made so many horrible mistakes I know will pull me down the gutter. And there is no easy way out. I just need some support and advice. Please and thank you.

[ccsmod1]

RE: I ran away from home and I'm 16 and live in Texas

Thanks for reaching out to us for help. It sounds like you are in a really tough situation right now, and we are here to help. It sounds like you have been through a lot recently. It is understandable that you were tired of getting the belt, we are really sorry to hear about that. You don’t deserve to be hit or mistreated. Since you are under the age of 18, if you leave home you could be considered a runaway. This means that your parent or legal guardian could call the police, who might force you to return home. Running away is not a crime, however anyone who allows you to stay with them could risk criminal charges for harboring a runaway. It sounds like you are afraid to go home. It is understandable that you would be feeling scared. If you need help finding somewhere safe to go or making a plan, we can help with that.
You said you have considered suicide. We are here to listen and support you in any way that we can, and our primary concern is for your safety. If you are thinking about suicide or harming yourself, the National Suicide Lifeline could be a really helpful resource. Check out www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org or call them at 1-800-273-8255. You can always reach out to us as well. You also mentioned that you think you may be pregnant. If you need any sexual health information, www.sexetc.org is a really great resource to find out more about pregnancy options, birth control, and other info. If you need help talking through a plan for how to deal with this situation, we can help you figure that out as well. Please do not hesitate to give us a call 24/7. We are looking forward to hearing from you, and wish you the best of luck.

[Darneshiab6]

Hi I'm 18 can my mother or police do anything about me running away

[ccsmod6]

RE:

Hi there,

Thank you for contacting us here at the National Runaway Safeline (NRS). It sounds like you are having some concerns with leaving home at 18. We are not legal experts but generally most states set the age of majority at 18 meaning you are considered an adult at that age and may choose to live where you wish. Unless you have pending charges for a crime or are breaking probation/parole, the police would not be able to do anything if your mother tried to file a police report. It is often best to consult with someone with a legal background to verify age of majority in your state as there are some areas that set the age higher than 18. If we can provide a legal resource or any further support, please reach out to us by phone or chat.

Our main crisis line is 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929), and you can chat with us through our website at www.1800runaway.org.

We look forward to your chat or call soon.

Best wishes,

NRS

[Unregistered]

Runaways

if i run away is there any way for me to attend a school?

[ccsmod2]

re: runaways

Hello,

If you have contacted NRS today through another means (for example, live chat, email or bulletin) for the same issue, it would be helpful to let us know that you have already contacted us. NRS understands it takes courage to reach out for help; therefore, we would like to minimize the need for you to repeat your situation and avoid offering you duplicate services.

Best,
NRS

[Kate]

Im 18 and i want to run away from home

I can't live anymore with my parents. I just wanted to go somewhere but I don't no where to go .can you please help me

[ccsmod6]

RE: Im 18 and i want to run away from home

Hi there,

Thank you for contacting us here at the National Runaway Safeline (NRS) through our online forum. It sounds like things at home are overwhelming for you and you are looking to leave now at 18. We can offer shelters or other resources that may help you decide on what you feel is best for yourself. We are here as a support and to help you sort through different options that again are in your best interest. We can best help if you reach our by phone or chat. Our crisis line currently operates 24/7 at 1-800-786-2929, however, our chat hours (www.1800runaway.org) are limited at this time.

If you would like to talk more about your situation or would like to explore your options and possible resources that may benefit you, please reach out by phone or chat. We would be happy to explore all options possible in your current situation.

Looking forward to your chat or call.

Best,

NRS

[Unregistered]

Re: Im 16 and hate living at home if i run away can the police force me to go back?

I'm 15 turning 16 in February I live in Ontario, I'm legally able to move out at 16. I have a place and I'm ready to move, I am paying rent and I do have a job. I told my dad about what I want to do and he said he would not let me and he will force me to stay, is this legal? I will be continuing school throughout high school and college.

[ccsmod3]

Re: Im 16 and hate living at home if i run away can the police force me to go back?

Often, youth may reach out to NRS in several different ways to discuss their situation. If a response from NRS is not visible to a bulletin posting it may be that we have already provided services to that individual through another platform we provide such as email, our crisis hotline, or our live chat service (in operation every day from 4:30p to 11:30p CST and sometimes starting at 1pm). NRS encourages anyone in need of assistance to contact us through our 24 hour crisis hotline at 1-800-RUNAWAY to receive immediate support.

[Unregistered]

Re: Im 16 and hate living at home if i run away can the police force me to go back?

There are some states you can run away to and they can not force you to return home

[ccsmod1]

RE: Im 16 and hate living at home if i run away can the police force me to go back?

Thank you for posting. While it is true that some states do not make youth who are 17 years of age return home, that does not necessarily predict how they will handle runaways from out of state. At 16, you would probably be expected to follow the laws of your state of origin or wherever your legal guardian lives. If you are hoping to run away to a state with more lenient laws for runaways, you could easily still end up being picked up by police, especially if you do not have a plan for somewhere to stay and end up living on the streets. In addition, if you were hoping to survive by staying in a shelter or relying on social service agencies, since you are from out of state they may try to make arrangements to transfer you back to your home state. If you need help figuring out a plan, don't hesitate to give us a call. We are here to listen and support you in any way that we can. We are looking forward to hearing from you, and wish you the best of luck.

[jjj123]

15 want to run away

My parents use me as a slave. And I want to know if I run away. Will the people I go to live with get in trouble

[ccsmod8]

RE: 15 want to run away

Hello there -

Thanks for writing to us here at the National Runaway Safeline with your concerns. From your email to us here, we can see that you have very similar questions to a lot of our callers and you’re looking for some answers. We are always here to listen and here to help in any way that we can. It can be very frustrating not knowing what to do or what your next step might be from this point on and thinking about what would happen if you did leave your house.

Now it's great that you're looking ahead and trying to figure out what is best for you. We aren't legal experts here at NRS, so we can't tell you exactly what would happen if you were to leave your house. For anyone under the age of 18 (except Alabama and Nebraska [19 or upon marriage], and Mississippi [21]), your parents would be able to make a runaway report in the event that you do run away. Since it’s only considered a statues offense and not a crime to run away, the only thing that would happen is that the police will pick you up and bring you back home. This is of course if you had any interaction with the police directly or if they stopped you to ask you a few questions.

What would your overall plan be (i.e long term housing (are you able to stay there for a long time/what if you break up), transportation, financial stability, access to food/clothes, school, etc.)? Having a solid plan about what you are planning on doing it might be a good idea so that you can think about what is reasonably possible for you to do and want isn’t. If your parents do end up making a runaway report with the local police and you are planning on staying with someone else, your parent can press charges on that family for harboring a runaway when they are not giving accurate information on your whereabouts. That could lead to a number of different legal issues. So that might be something to keep in mind as well.

If you give us a call on our 24/7 hotline at 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929) we could help you find resources in your area and could potentially help you brainstorm a possible solution to the issues you are having. We would love to talk to you about what has been going on recently. We also have an online chat service available every night from 4:30-11:30 PM CST that is available through our website.

[Unregistered]

Re: Im 15 and hate living at home if i run away will I get charged when im 18?

I want to run away im in truancy and i missed one class period, they're trying to put me into a shelter which i really don't want to, i didnt do anything wrong and i even got a pass from the teacher but my case worker says i have a warrent out for my arrest for the teacher not marking me present, i told the teacher i was going to the office which i did but than i left and walked around campus, could they put me in a shelter for that? And if i were to runnaway till im 18 could i get arrested when i get back?